The mildew soured smell of damp towels that have been left sitting for a week or so...that is what mold smells like, It stinks. I enlarged your photos. All I see is lint and a few split ends. I have never seen the butter stuff but I can guess that it is what has caused the sticky feel. Dreads attract lint. If your dreads are sticky then obviously it will attract a lot more lint than normal. I pick some of my lint out with my finger nails or tweezers but over the years I have just gotten used to knowing there will always be some in there somewhere. I have noticed that I get a whole lot less lint now than I did in the beginning.

I have 4 wooden beads in my hair. 3 of them are about a 1/2 inch long. I have one that I got from Soaring Eagle about 5 years ago that is 1 1/2 inches long. Other than changing it to another dread once, it has never been taken out. I have never had any problems with it. No mold. The only problems that I have ever had with beads are from putting them in and leaving them while my hair was still shrinking. The knots thickened up on both sides of the bead. The beads got stuck in my hair. There were 3 of them. One was wooden. I hit it with a hammer and it came off easily. One was glass. My dread hit a door frame and broke it so I had to get it out. I put the bead under a towel, hit it with a hammer and it came off. The 3rd was pewter. It is still stuck in my hair. I can't get it out unless I cut my hair. It will be there forever.

unfortunately people with VERY sensitive skin need to be extremely careful with essential oils too.

Peppermint is good for dandruff. It is wonderful for sinus issues and upset tummies. Tea tree oil is anti-fungal. Helps heal small cuts and abrasions. It works great for minor colds by breathing in the fumes. The fumes can also keep creepy crawlies out of you hair. It is used by many for dandruff but I feel like it is too drying and can actually cause flaky skin in some instances or make it worse.

Out of the 3 oils you use, rosemary is the only one that will help with hair loss. Rosemary IS used for low blood circulation. It is also excellent for your hair. Keep in mind many people are sensitive to essential oils and need to cut them with a base oil before applying. I recommend jojoba as a base for use in hair of any type. America has the mind set that more is better, but the truth is that it only takes a drop or two. Rub it directly on the effected areas.

Personally I would still go with a pinch of cayenne.

Nathaniel Lopez said:

Well a lot of people have sensitive skin, however that does sounds really interesting and I will look more into it. I always just used peppermint, teatree, or rosemary. They work and smell amazing.

taye said:

Actually a bit of cayenne rubbed on the scalp is safe and clean. It rinses out clean as a whistle. It is not applied to the hair. It is applied to the scalp. It has been used for a very long time to stimulate hair growth. I don't recommend using a pound of it. I said a bit of it. Which means a pinch. It works as long as a person does not have sensitive skin.

Nathaniel Lopez said:

Please don't rub that in your hair. Your right that blood flow is very important, but there are cleaner and safer ways to do it.

taye said:

Both. Eating hot sauce is good for blood flow. Rubbing a bit of cayenne pepper onto the scalp also encourages blood flow. Make sure your skin is not too sensitive to it be fore you do it!

Actually a bit of cayenne rubbed on the scalp is safe and clean. It rinses out clean as a whistle. It is not applied to the hair. It is applied to the scalp. It has been used for a very long time to stimulate hair growth. I don't recommend using a pound of it. I said a bit of it. Which means a pinch. It works as long as a person does not have sensitive skin.

Nathaniel Lopez said:

Please don't rub that in your hair. Your right that blood flow is very important, but there are cleaner and safer ways to do it.

taye said:

Both. Eating hot sauce is good for blood flow. Rubbing a bit of cayenne pepper onto the scalp also encourages blood flow. Make sure your skin is not too sensitive to it be fore you do it!

In my life I have experienced weird looks. I was a raft guide for a long time. I would pick my daughter up from school in river shorts and a bikini top. I can remember the looks I got. It was my work "uniform"I did not have time to change. I could care less what other people think of me or how I dress or what my hair looks like. There is always going to be someone that judges you. What they think is their business, not yours. They have personal issues that really have nothing to do with you. I know people judge me, I do not care. I have a job that I love with people that are important to me. I have friends and family that love me for who I am That is what is important. and besides...there is not a day that goes by that some stranger reaches out and says "your dreads are beautiful." Ignore the bad....because it would happen even if your head was shaved.

I used a few methods to start my dreads. I back combed a few. I left a couple in braids to knot up. I went to a gathering and had a few TnR done. I left the whole back of my head to dread naturally. I also have tons of baby dreads that have knotted on their own all over the place! It took my hair over 2 years to stop shrinking. That is when I feel that they were mature. In my experience the back combed hair became solid dreads quicker. The neglect ones took longer. After a few years it became difficult to tell the difference between the methods.

My dreads are only 7 years old. I do know that my dreads are getting heavy. I plan on keeping mine to my ass. I will trim them to keep them at that length. I have a lot of wispy hair around my face. I don't think it is thinning, but it does not really grow. I take 10,000 mcg of Biotin every night. It has encouraged a lot of new growth. I would also recommend scalp massage. Because we have dreads our scalp gets ignored. We can not brush to stimulate blood flow. So massage is very important. Blood flow keeps a scalp happy and encourages blood flow. It also keeps the hair follicles from getting clogged. Clogged hair follicles can cause hair loss. Also hot sauce is a good thing!